Picks and Pans Review: The Gashlycrumb Tinies

As a badly needed public service, his publishers continue to reprint vintage Gorey like this nasty little jewel that first appeared in 1962—long before the world was ready for such stuff. It begins with "A is for Amy who fell down the stairs" and runs through "Z is for Zillah who drank too much gin." In between, Ida drowns in a lake, Neville dies of ennui and Victor is squashed by a train. Gorey's drawings are, of course, flawlessly macabre. (Dodd, Mead, $5.95)